


To Save His Life

by iwillgodownwithbuddie (rebeldawgspirategirl)



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:42:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeldawgspirategirl/pseuds/iwillgodownwithbuddie
Summary: Owen talks about the decision to move from New York to Austin at the rehearsal dinner.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Comments: 6
Kudos: 169





	To Save His Life

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt by theworld-is-out-there on Tumblr:  
> Owen to whoever "i moved down here to save my sons life."

It had been a busy day for everyone. Between some last minute decisions and then the rehearsal, T.K. and Carlos felt like that hadn’t been able to sit down all day. Now that they were finally sitting down at the restaurant side by side, they had silently agreed to let everyone else do the moving around and talking. They linked hands under the table as their friends all got up and talked about how Carlos and T.K. were made for each other. 

They were prepared for the sappy speeches from their friends. They weren’t prepared, though, for the emotional one that came from Owen.

“It’s no big secret that T.K. and I are from New York. Moving down here to Austin was an opportunity that I was hesitant to do at first. You see, I was a firefighter in Manhattan on 9/11. I watched as my team died in the rubble. I swore that I would always make sure I would honor them,” Owen started, looking over at Judd as he spoke about honoring his former team. “Then Deputy Chief Radford from Austin, Texas showed up in my office. I had just been diagnosed with lung cancer and had no plans of leaving New York or my doctors.”

T.K. leaned into Carlos as his father talked. He knew where Owen was going with this story, and it still hurt to hear just how scared his dad had been in those moments. Carlos wrapped a comforting arm around T.K.’s shoulders.

“After Deputy Chief Radford left, it was supposed to be just a normal day at Station 252 in NYC, but then I realized my son hadn’t come in to work yet. I remembered how he had said he was going to propose to his boyfriend the night before. I checked my phone and didn’t see any happy announcements. I just felt this pit of dread in my stomach. I told the team I’d be right back and headed to his apartment. He wasn’t answering. I called the team and we forced our way in. There was my son, unconscious in his apartment.”

T.K. closed his eyes. The memory of waking up on his floor and seeing his Dad scared and his team working around him would haunt him forever. 

Carlos leaned over and whispered in T.K.’s ear, “I’ve heard this a million times, but it doesn’t get any easier.”

T.K. turned to look at Carlos. “Doesn’t get any easier for me either.”

“When T.K. was released from the hospital,” Owen continued, “we sat outside talking. When I asked him if he was trying to commit suicide, he said no, but he hesitated. I knew we had to get out of New York at that moment. I knew if we had stayed, my son wouldn’t be here today. I told him to pack his stuff and we’re going to get out of town. I moved down here to save my son’s life.”

T.K. looked up at his father at those words. He always suspected that his dad had caught on when he hesitated answering that night. He knew Carlos knew he had been suicidal. He had always wondered if the move was because of the drugs or something bigger, but now he had that confirmation. T.K. felt his eyes sting with tears at his dad’s honest confession. 

Owen saw the tears forming in his son’s eyes. His heart hurt briefly at the sight, but within seconds, Owen saw Carlos’ grip on his son tighten. “When we first moved here, things still weren’t great, but they were getting better. Part of me wondered if once T.K. was sober for a year that he’d hightail it back to New York, but then this cop came into his life. He never pushed T.K. into something he didn’t want, even if it broke his own heart in the process. When the solar storm hit, something happened though. T.K. started looking at Austin as home. Specifically, and he’ll never admit it, he started looking at Carlos as home.” 

Owen turned his attention to T.K. and spoke to him directly. “I knew that day when Carlos showed up at the station just after you told the team about your overdose that one day we’d be here. We may have moved here to save your life, but Carlos showed you how to live.” He looked to Carlos next. “I’ll never be able to thank you for that.”

Carlos nodded at his future father-in-law as he brushed the stray tear away from his eyes. 

T.K. stood from his chair and walked to his father, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thanks Dad.”

“I promise my best man speech tomorrow will not be that emotional,” Owen said, pulling back from the hug and brushing the back of his hand on his eyes. “I just had to get that out. Carlos means a lot to me because he saved you.”

“You just said it yourself. You saved me,” T.K. argued. “He helped, but I don’t know if I’d even be here to be with Carlos if we hadn’t left New York. Hell, if you hadn’t come that morning, I wouldn’t be here.”

Owen pulled T.K. back into another brief hug before letting his son return to his seat next to his fiancé. 

“Good luck with that one, Carlos,” Owen joked. “He’s a handful.”

“Oh I know!” Carlos teased.

T.K. turned to look at his fiancé offendedly. “Hey!” he exclaimed.

Carlos laughed. “Love you.”

T.K. couldn’t even pretend to be mad for long. “Love you, too,” he said, linking hands once more and turning his attention to the next person to speak.

**Author's Note:**

> Reblog on Tumblr: https://iwillgodownwithbuddie.tumblr.com/post/613067881728671744/to-save-his-life


End file.
